Tagged: Texas Legislature

In the first segment:

A pro-gun rally was held this past Saturday outside the statehouse in Austin, complete with a faux Paul Revere, while inside a stack of firearm-related house a bills were debated and voted on.  

The House Committee on Homeland Security and Public Safety heard from the chief investigators of the explosion at the West fertilizer plant this morning at the state capitol.

Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, told lawmakers that the state uses an EPA law that places the responsibility for responding to emergency at the local level.

In the first segment:

It appears that regardless of what passes or doesn't pass in the legislature this month, the San Antonio city ordinance on payday lenders in San Antonio will remain.

According to Texans for Public Justice, an anti-corruption advocacy nonprofit, payday lenders had more than $3.7 million in donations to state lawmaker campaigns since 2010.  

The organization says the payday loan lobby is fueling a "tepid" set of reforms.  

Proposals were made by both the Republicans and Democrats in the House, but it is House Bill 3791, the Republican "Texas-ccentric" plan, that is heading to the House floor for a vote. 

The plan is to get federal dollars in the form of a block grant that is used to create a state alternative to Medicaid expansion, though the federal government has not said if such a grant will be given.